A Huckabee foe in the Arkansas Senate strongly disagreed with Hardin's claim and said Huckabee was "thin-skinned" and "hateful" when it came to dealing with her.

"I have great respect for Lu Hardin and he's done a great job at UCA, but obviously we dealt with different sides of former Gov. Huckabee," said Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville. "I found him to be insulting and very polarizing."